Historians explore tragedy of the City of Waco ship

Exploring the depths of a tragedy in the GulfThe 1870s ship City of Waco is gaining attention from historians and archaeologists

Aster Oil, it was called. And it was meant to cast a honey-hued glow from the lamps in America's genteel parlors. But as hundreds of gallons of the volatile fuel burned aboard the steamship City of Waco on a stormy midnight 129 years ago, it illuminated instead the hellish scene of one of Texas' worst maritime disasters.

Crews on a dozen ships anchored near the stricken vessel about a mile off Galveston's south jetty on Nov. 8, 1875, first heard an explosion, then saw the vessel, which had arrived from New York City that afternoon, burst into flames. Above the howl of gale-force winds, they heard the passengers' cries for help and the hiss of fire meeting water. In the undulating obsidian swells, they saw the doomed vainly struggle for life.

Fifty-six people — passengers and crew — died that night. And for weeks, New York newspapers scored as miscreants the steamship owners who had loaded such treacherous cargo on a passenger craft. Officials first marked the site to safeguard other traffic in the busy port. In 1900, they ordered the ship's remains demolished. Then the City of Waco was forgotten.

Now, the Texas Historical Commission is focusing new attention on the wreck as professional and amateur marine archaeologists team up to document the City of Waco's demise. Through sonar scrutiny of the recently rediscovered wreckage 40 feet below the Gulf's surface and preliminary dives, researchers have determined that the remarkably well-preserved hull most likely is that of the lost Mallory Lines vessel.

Additional dives are planned for later this year. Excavation of the site is being considered if funding can be secured. Additionally, Texas A&M University at Galveston has expressed interest in conducting a magnetometer survey of the sea floor — an effort that could locate anchors or portions of the ship that have migrated from the main wreck site.

State's deadliest wreck

Although the project isn't as important as the commission's mid-1990s excavation of LaBelle, a ship lost by explorer
Rene-Robert Cavelier
,
Sieur de La Salle
, in Matagorda Bay more than 300 years ago, the City of Waco intrigues archaeologists.

Of the approximately 2,000 wrecks that dot Texas waters, the City of Waco was the deadliest, said state marine archaeologist Steve Hoyt. The site also is valuable for what it may tell researchers about late 19th-century ships that, like the Waco, were equipped both for steam- and sail-powered voyages.

"What we've done thus far basically was a visual examination," Hoyt said. "We haven't really been able to go down with a tape measure or to start making drawings or address those types of details."

Although the wreck site has been included on navigational charts since the ship's sinking, it essentially was forgotten until rediscovered by a U.S. Corps of Engineers crew two years ago. Corps staffers advised the historical commission of the find, suggesting they may have stumbled onto the remains of the Galveston, a dredge lost in a 1943 hurricane.

A quick check of maps showed that the Galveston had sunk miles away. And Hoyt and a volunteer assistant soon found historical evidence that the rediscovered wreck might be the City of Waco. Though all indications suggest the wreckage is that of the burned ship, only evidence such as serial numbers on the engines can conclusively establish identity, Hoyt said.

'A very challenging site'

The City of Waco, a 242-foot-long single-screw iron-hulled steamer built in Philadelphia by the John Roach shipyard, entered service in late 1873 and made 20 round trips between New York City and Galveston before it burned and sank.

Andrew Hall, a former president of the Southwest Underwater Archaeological Society who was active in early dives, noted that weather, currents and limited visibility make diving at the wreck site difficult. The first attempted dive in November 2003 was aborted when currents made anchoring difficult; of three attempted dives in fall 2004, only one proved successful.

"This is going to be a very challenging site to work on because of the environment, the complex factors affecting the remains of the ship (the fire and later demolition) and above all, the sheer size of the site — roughly 240 feet long and almost 40 feet wide," Hall said. "We've barely begun this project and will have plenty to keep us busy on this one for a long time to come."

The wreckage sits upright on the sea floor, with portions of the hull extending several feet above the oozy bottom. As much as 15 feet of the ship may be buried in silt.

"Colors are really muted at that point," Hall said. "My first impression of it was looking up at it ... so it looked black. But it's actually a reddish brown and really rough in texture because it's covered with concretions, like a layer of cement that's been trowelled into the metal."

Lightning a possible cause

What caused the initial fire remains a mystery, although Hoyt noted that a lightning strike might have triggered the blaze. Once the fire reached the 200 cases of lamp oil stored on deck — an illegal action even under the lax regulations of the period — the fate of the ship and its occupants was sealed.

"It would have been like trying to survive a fire in a matchbox," Hall said.

Contemporary coverage of the sinking in the Galveston Daily News hints at the tragedy's dimensions.

From the quarter deck of the Caledonia, a ship anchored next to the City of Waco, the ship's mate, identified by the Daily News as "Mr. Cahill," heard an explosion and turned to see the doomed vessel erupt in flames.

"After some half an hour," the newspaper said, "he heard cries for assistance and saw some half dozen persons in the water. ... He made all the preparations possible for rendering assistance should any one drift near enough the Caledonia to avail themselves of what he could do. He got out life lines and life buoys, but being without assistance, could not launch the boat. The sea was running high at the time and the wind was blowing a gale."

With the wind blowing at least 40 mph, swells on the Gulf could have reached 8 to 10 feet, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

Only three bodies were recovered.

One was found and buried near High Island. A second was discovered between High Island and Port Bolivar. The third, the drowned body of the ship's pilot, Capt. Thomas Wolfe, was found floating two miles from the wreck site. The remains were transported to Wolfe's hometown of Mystic, Conn., for burial.

A large Labrador retriever, which was discovered wandering the area days after the disaster, was thought the ship's only survivor.